The present invention relates to a portable, self-contained, self-powered, water-submersible water jet appliance useful for providing hydro-massage, enhanced relaxation and other therapeutic benefits.
The use of water sprays and jets for human cleanliness, relaxation and therapy is well known. There are numerous appliances known in the art for providing such sprays and jets. Such appliances can be as simple as an ordinary shower head. Various designs are also known for spas and therapy pools, some of which are now available in sizes that can be used in the home. Generally, however, shower heads, spas and therapy pools provide water sprays and jets from nozzles which, while adjustable over a limited range, are fixed in place. This leads to two distinct disadvantages.
One disadvantage is that, since such appliances are permanently fixed in place and permanently connected to a domestic plumbing system, they cannot conveniently be taken from place to place.
A second disadvantage is that, being fixed in place, such appliances cannot be conveniently used to direct their water jet towards all parts of the body. A person enjoying a spa, for example, can, in a very limited way, adjust his or her body position so that the water jet or spray massages certain preferred areas of the body; however, because the appliance is fixed in place, it is not accessible to all areas of the person's body.
A partial solution of this problem has been provided by a variety of hand-held shower heads. These, however, still suffer from many of the aforesaid limitations. They must be connected to a water source, such as a common water faucet, and must rely on the domestic water system for the amount of water pressure available. They cannot generate their own water pressure. In addition, the water they use is added to the pool already in the bathtub, thereby filling the tub beyond the desired level. This is an inconvenience and a waste of water.
While they can be disconnected and transported, such disconnection and reconnection is not always easily accomplished. A traveler cannot count on the "fittings" at the places he visits being matched to those on his hand-held shower head.
In addition, hand-held shower heads are suitable for projecting a water stream through the air, to impinge or fall upon the human body. They are not, however, generally convenient for use under water. For example, a person sitting in a bathtub full of water could find it inconvenient to use an ordinary hand-held shower head to massage those parts of his or her body that are submerged beneath the water level. Such shower heads are generally cumbersome to move, and lack the flexibility needed to conveniently apply them to all parts of the body.
Still another partial solution to the problem of providing massage and stimulation to a person's body are devices, such as those disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,511 to Kodato et al., which provide a "bubble massage". Such devices aspirate air to produce a stream of water containing tiny bubbles. For this purpose, the air enters the unit through an air line or hose which extends outward to a chamber or the like that is placed in the open air, e.g., outside the bathtub. Because of the necessity for access to air, such devices are not wholly submersible in water and are therefore inconvenient to use as well as transport.